Don't Yawn While at the Checkpoint
Mar 30, 2015, 3:00 pm
#46
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: ORD
Programs: United 1K (Star Alliance Gold) IHG Platinum
Posts: 226
About 6 months ago, I was taking a medication that caused profuse sweating at certain times of day. I made the mistake of taking it right before going to the airport. My cheeks were red and I was literally dripping sweat so badly I thought that my eye makeup would come off. I was TERRIFIED that this would stop me from traveling!
However, either no one noticed it or (more likely) no one seemed to care. Based on reading this list, I think that's pretty strange.. Either I was "lucky" or they just really aren't looking for women.
However, either no one noticed it or (more likely) no one seemed to care. Based on reading this list, I think that's pretty strange.. Either I was "lucky" or they just really aren't looking for women.
Mar 30, 2015, 10:23 pm
#48
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 1,007
I think we're on the same side
Mar 31, 2015, 4:48 am
#49
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 962
Well, you'll note that on the "reasons for arrest" list, not a single item has anything to do with terrorism, weapons, or explosives.
I guess they've never had cause to write that, so why have a checkbox?
Mar 31, 2015, 5:44 am
#50
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Slightly to the left of center
Posts: 3,475
Mar 31, 2015, 6:14 am
#51
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: WN Nothing and spending the half million points from too many flights, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,043
I would add for balance that installation of a personal server in ones home for government communication, personally deciding applicability of emails for a congressional investigation, and then unilaterally directing the wiping the server, are for also grist for that mill.
Last edited by essxjay; Apr 3, 2015 at 12:46 am Reason: going OMNI
Mar 31, 2015, 7:34 am
#52
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
How many points does a SPOTted person at an airport have to collect before the SPOTting TSA employee realizes that the TSA should make Depends or other incontinence products part of the required TSA uniform?
Mar 31, 2015, 10:41 am
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Could be an architect just getting really excited about his pat-down.
The more points a TSO collects, the better. The TSO is the first line of defense against bad guys and they're there for your protection. This manual was clearly created by somebody who had spent a lot of time watching Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Mentalist and Lie to Me. Respect the Authori-tah!
Mike
Mike
Last edited by essxjay; Apr 3, 2015 at 12:46 am Reason: reference to deleted remark
Mar 31, 2015, 1:24 pm
#54
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 962
Sad thing is, he used to do really great research — in fact, it's what inspired me to go to grad school to study social neuroscience (and is in part the basis of my thesis).
But then he stopped doing peer-reviewed, published research and started contradicting his own prior research which clearly showed that involuntary displays of basic emotions or stress (which do exist) cannot be reliably attributed to any particular underlying reason, like deception.
This is intuitively obvious if you think about this: suppose a cop asks you, in an interrogation room, whether you raped your ex. You're pretty damn likely to show a spike of CNS stress combined with anger, disgust, fear, or the like. Think of how many potential reasons there are for that reaction (which is all that can be measured externally, even if you're good at it*) that are not "because you're guilty".
* And FWIW, as my thesis work shows (duplicating prior research; see its cites), there's basically zero correlation between whether you actually are good at detecting facial emotion and how confident you are in your assessments, etc.
Mar 31, 2015, 1:27 pm
#55
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,403
Die Hard with a Vengeance is way beyond the intellectual capacity of the authors of that form. And the The Mentalist would have been like reading James Joyce translated into Finnish.
I went back and read Julie Raines' paper from Northern Kentucky University. She discusses the behavioural aspects used by American Airlines' contract security firm when they were at Orly. These were:
1. Appears nervous
2. Does not cooperate with security agent
3. Passenger tries to avoid questioning
4. Makes contact with other passengers suspiciously
5. Makes contradictory statements
These are not particularly insane criteria even though they are subjective and dependent on the security agent's skill.
But the biggest difference is that they are not scored or ranked. The agent is supposed to THINK.
It's rather like when I teach a class on suicide assessment (a hot topic at the moment.) I always, always taught to never use a score. You can't use a rating scale and say, "You got a 2 out of 10" so you must be fine. Then the patient goes and kills himself. Scoring and ranking are a dangerous way to avoid sound clinical judgment.
I went back and read Julie Raines' paper from Northern Kentucky University. She discusses the behavioural aspects used by American Airlines' contract security firm when they were at Orly. These were:
1. Appears nervous
2. Does not cooperate with security agent
3. Passenger tries to avoid questioning
4. Makes contact with other passengers suspiciously
5. Makes contradictory statements
These are not particularly insane criteria even though they are subjective and dependent on the security agent's skill.
But the biggest difference is that they are not scored or ranked. The agent is supposed to THINK.
It's rather like when I teach a class on suicide assessment (a hot topic at the moment.) I always, always taught to never use a score. You can't use a rating scale and say, "You got a 2 out of 10" so you must be fine. Then the patient goes and kills himself. Scoring and ranking are a dangerous way to avoid sound clinical judgment.
Mar 31, 2015, 1:39 pm
#56
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 962
It's rather like when I teach a class on suicide assessment (a hot topic at the moment.) I always, always taught to never use a score. You can't use a rating scale and say, "You got a 2 out of 10" so you must be fine. Then the patient goes and kills himself. Scoring and ranking are a dangerous way to avoid sound clinical judgment.
Mar 31, 2015, 1:53 pm
#57
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,403
Sazai,
It's here: http://citation.allacademic.com/meta...256_index.html
Nothing earth-shattering, rather scattered, and not much to do with El Al.
But it does spell out what the agents at Orly were using. And I doubt that the algorithm has changed much.
It's here: http://citation.allacademic.com/meta...256_index.html
Nothing earth-shattering, rather scattered, and not much to do with El Al.
But it does spell out what the agents at Orly were using. And I doubt that the algorithm has changed much.
Mar 31, 2015, 6:04 pm
#59
Used to be 'Travelergcp'
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: New Orleans
Programs: AA Plat, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,826
I imagine there's an unwritten racial/ethnic multiplier to all of these. x5 points if you're not a very American-looking white male or female, regardless of your citizenship or immigration status.
Mar 31, 2015, 6:50 pm
#60
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,083
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1..._1125208.html?
Nah, TSA wouldn't profile. But if they did profile you can bet it was done more than once and at more than one airport.